Chapter 152: A weighted lie

The lie was hard and suffocating on Lieyin’s tongue when it slipped out. But even more when she felt that sharp pain that twisted in her heart. It was immediate, more intimate, like something that pulsed between them like a shared wound.

Lieyin looked up, chest filled with dread as she saw Ru Yi standing on the landing of the stairs. Her face was calm and clear of the hurt Lieyin knew she was feeling.

Even Yexue froze.

"There’s no need to fight each other," Ru Yi said in a firm voice when she walked over to them, eyes looking everywhere but where Lieyin stood.

Her posture was too serene for someone who clearly heard something hurtful about her.

Lieyin’s chest tightened as the echo of her own voice came back to her, harsher now, uglier than it had felt in the moment.

I would never be in love with someone like her.

She hadn’t meant—

No, that wasn’t true.

Ru Yi didn’t acknowledge it. Not even a flicker of emotion passing through her face

Instead, she placed herself directly in the space between the sisters, where the argument had been building, as if physically holding it apart.

"We’re wasting time," Ru Yi continued, her voice even...not giving a single thing away. "Qingyue could be in danger. What if she was taken?"

Yexue looked at her. "No one took her, it seems she left of her own will."

Ru Yi shook her head.

She couldn’t fathom a world where Qingyue would leave her sisters. It just wasn’t possible. There had to be a reason, and the more time they wasted, the more possible it became that Qingyue could be in real danger.

"I don’t think so."

Lieyin looked at her, a spark of hope rising too quickly...too desperately. "Then where is she? Did she mention anything to you?"

Ru Yi’s expression didn’t change when she finally raised her gaze to Lieyin. "After the argument yesterday, it’s not unreasonable that she would need some space."

It sounded reasonable. It sounded like something Qingyue would do.

But what worried Ru Yi was that— "She still wouldn’t leave without informing you," she directed it to Lieyin. "You slept in the same room. You’re sure she didn’t mention anything about visiting someone?"

Lieyin shook her head. "She was just gone when I woke up. Her belongings are not in the room anymore."

Ru Yi turned, already moving past them toward the main hall. "We should ask around," she added, her voice carrying enough steel to pull the sisters forward. "Standing here won’t bring her back."

Lieyin hesitated.

Her gaze lingered on Ru Yi’s back, the words she hadn’t said pressing heavily against her throat now.

I didn’t mean it. I wasn’t talking about you. I’m sorry...

The apology sat there, sharp and urgent, but she could not get herself to force them out. Instead she followed Ru Yi quietly, putting a reasonable distance between them.

The hall had begun to fill with movement, workers preparing for the day as they served guests. The low murmur of voices created a steady background as Ru Yi approached the nearest one without hesitation.

"Excuse me," she said, her tone polite but direct, "have you seen the man traveling with us? He has blond hair, and looks exactly like his brothers." She gestured to Lieyin and Yexue standing behind her.

The worker paused, thinking. Then he shook his head.

It continued like that...Ru Yi asking everyone in the hall if they’d seen Qingyue. And each time the answer was the same. No.

No one had seen her that morning.

Yexue’s unease deepened with each response, the earlier argument now fading into something colder that she couldn’t ignore anymore.

Until—

"Wait."

The voice came from further down the hall.

A younger boy stepped forward, his gaze was not fixed on their faces but on Ru Yi’s hand. More specifically, on her ring.

"I saw someone with the same ring you’re wearing this morning," he said slowly. "And he looked like the two of you."

All three of them went still.

Ru Yi raised her hand, looking at the ring that sat pretty there. "What do you mean?"

The worker frowned, trying to piece it together. "It was early this morning, still dark out. I only remember the ring because it caught the light when he was adjusting the satchel he was carrying."

Ru Yi’s heart skipped. It was indeed Qingyue. "Where was he going?"

The boy shrugged. "It was hard to tell and I didn’t ask. But he left on horseback and he wasn’t alone."

Yexue stepped forward. "Who was with him?"

The worker’s expression shifted into one of uncertainty. "The strange boy that’s always taking travelers to the mountain. He has deep red eyes, it’s hard not to recognize him even in the dark."

Lieyin stepped forward. "That’s the boy with the map."

The worker nodded before excusing himself to go continue his duties.

Lieyin turned to the others with wide eyes. "Qingyue is heading to Ashen Fortress."

Ru Yi didn’t say anything, but her mind already narrowed in on that possibility.

"She must’ve found him," Lieyin continued, her thoughts racing, each realization landing harder than the last. "That must’ve been what she was going to discuss without us before you started arguing with her!"

Yexue couldn’t form a single thought. "Why would she leave without us?"

"You were the one that kept saying she was forcing us into this! Of course she’d want to go alone." Lieyin’s accusation stung but it wasn’t further from the truth.

"I didn’t tell her to leave."

Lieyin planted her hands on her hips. "No, you made her sound like we’d be better off without her," she shot back. "Like everything she’s done for us didn’t matter."

"That’s not what I said," Yexue replied, her tone finally sharpening. "I said she never asked us what we wanted. Don’t twist my words."

"And now she’s gone," Lieyin’s voice cracked despite herself. "I hope you’re happy now. At least there’ll be no one breathing down your neck about doing what you don’t want to do."